The Asheville Adventure Ends
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Today, I will share with you the account of our time in Asheville. Unfortunately, it didn’t measure up to expectations, and we regretted leaving Chapman Knoll, which I shared about in my last post: Our Time at Chapman Knoll.
Once again, we considered getting to Asheville by traveling on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but the map showed closures so we set our GPS to get us there on the fastest route. The first part of the trip from Chapman Knoll to Asheville included many winding country roads, but we eventually made our way to I-77S. As we reached Pisgah National Forest, the snow started falling again from the gray sky.
Approximately, four hours after leaving Chapman Knoll (we had stopped for gasoline and made one other quick stop along the way), we arrived in Asheville. Our goals were to search out the used bookshops, check in to our B&B, and find a place to eat dinner.
We found a public parking garage and started walking toward the first shop on our list. As we were walking, we passed by a new bookstore and decided to have a look. Ryan headed to the religious studies section, and I located the craft/interior design section. Browsing the section, I found two books of interest. The first book looked intriguing, and I knew that my friend Ginna would also be interested so I snapped a quick photo to send to her.
I wanted to buy The Gift of Calligraphy. Since first visiting the Woodrow Wilson Museum where they gave a quick lesson in calligraphy to me and my schoolmates and then visiting Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello where I purchased a replica feather pen in the gift shop, I have been fascinated by calligraphy. My aunt gave me a calligraphy pen set when I was a teenager, and I had much enjoyment using it over the years. What drew me to this book was the projects that the author included—she included supply lists and detailed instructions for wrapping paper, ribbon, and even applying calligraphy to tote bags. As much as I wanted it, I didn’t purchase it there because I wanted to see what I would find at the other bookstores. But I see that it is available on Amazon (at a much better price!). The other book, The Conscious Closet is also available on Amazon if it appears interesting to you. You can purchase both of the books by clicking on these affiliate links:
We left that bookstore and headed to the first one on our list. As we walked, snow was falling in large, dreamy flakes around us. It was beautiful.
The next store that we entered transported me back in time. The “twinkle lights” and wooden shelves and super helpful and friendly staff reminded me of the bookstore in one of my favorite movies, You’ve Got Mail. The clerk wrote all sales in an accounting ledger—no computer or even cash register was in sight. He made change out of a cash box. As an accountant, seeing the green accounting ledger made me smile. The place was magical, and I didn’t want to leave that bookstore. However, we still had other bookshops on our list, and we needed to check into our B&B at a set time. I will be sharing with you the treasure that I found at that bookshop in my next post.
It took us a bit of time to find the next bookshop because the GPS was directing us to a place where the bookstore was not to be found. Eventually, we found it and browsed. Although the ambiance was unique, the book selection didn’t provide anything of interest to us, and we left to head to our B&B.
Although the information on the B&B website sounded promising, we were greatly disappointed by our experience at our place of lodging. This house was NOT cozy nor comfortable nor charming nor clean. Instead it was shabby, and dirty (and even though my own house is rarely spotlessly clean at this stage in my life, when I go on vacation, I don’t want to look around and see work that needs to be done!) Apparently, the innkeeper doesn’t actually work on the premises—at least it appeared that all of the work was done by young staff.
The one good part of the experience was that when I asked about gluten-free dining options, I was given the names of two restaurants that were completely gluten free. Because we hadn’t eaten lunch and were very hungry, we didn’t want to wait for the fine dining restaurant to open and headed to the more reasonably priced BimBeriBon. This dining establishment offered gluten free, refined sugar free foods. The health food nut that I am thoroughly enjoyed finding this option. There were so many menu items that I wanted to try! But I finally decided to order this falafel kale salad because I was wanting a salad, and the staff said that it would be one of the most flavorful salads ever. Although it did not meet that standard, it was good. I ate part of the salad and took the rest with me to eat later, and we ordered a tiramisu for dessert. Ryan was somewhat disappointed by the beet ketchup, and he didn’t really enjoy the tiramisu because he is used to ones made with gluten and refined sugar, but to me, it was a very special treat! I would definitely eat there again.
After visiting yet another bookstore, we headed back to our B&B. I was looking forward to a nice warm bath in the jetted tub that was listed on the website as a feature of the room. However, there was a sign on the bathroom wall that the bathtub jets were not in working order. Even though the tub could have been used as regular tub, the bathroom was so frigid that it didn’t seem appealing. I didn’t see any heating/cooling vents in the bathroom, and the gas logs in our bedroom didn’t ever take the chill out of our room or provide warmth in the bathroom. Our bedroom shared the thermostat with the adjacent parlor, and I even went and set that higher, but it didn’t help. We were cold the entire time there.
We woke up and got ready for the day, and spent the first few hours of the morning in the parlor, where we read. The breakfast was served at 9:00 a.m. in the dining room.
Photo credit: Ryan Melcher
My gluten free breakfast option.
After eating breakfast, we packed up and started on the 5-6 hour drive back home. We were delighted to be reunited with our family and to return home. In retrospect, we wished that we had spent two nights at Chapman Knoll instead of even going to Asheville. But we have checked that visit off of our bucket list…
In the next post, I will be sharing the souvenirs that I brought home, and I will soon be sharing pictures of the quilt that I designed while we staying at Chapman Knoll.
Have a great weekend!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.